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tarotgalI need to rant. Feel free to ignore :-)
I hate people who use cliff's notes and those... well I don't even know the other companies who do the same thing, but those things. I hate them. I think there should be a special place in Hell for people who use them instead of reading the book. I know that's harsh, but it's how I feel. Plus I don't actually believe in Hell so it's not quite as bad as it seems. They should be reincarnated as a gnat or something, those people. DAMN but I hate them! With a passion! It's taking a piece of art- something that came out of someone's mind and soul and taking it down to a level where it's unappreciated because of pure stupidity and laziness. I don't fucking care how hard it is to read and understand some books. I don't care if it's a book you don't care about. It's as bad as murder to me. It's taking something someone created and not giving it any respect at all. No time to even try and understand it. I don't fucking care how much work people have or how slow they read if they don't even TRY to make an effort to read a book. It's somebody's art. Somebody's creation. And to take something beautiful that teaches and brings insight and cast it off like it's just a stupid assignment is just utterly wrong. I fucking hate people who use those things instead of reading the original piece. I really do. I don't care how nice a person is or how stressed and overworked they are, it's just wrong.
GROWL!!!
TG is one pissed chica right now. Mostly because one of those things is in my HOUSE now. My sister got it out of the library. She had exactly ONE book on her summer reading list. The WHOLE BLOODY SUMMER to read just a single book. Back in my day we had to read 4 or 5 books over the summer. And she couldn't read just one. She's a senior, mind you.
And which book was it? The Hobbit. I'm sorry, but it's like, 250 pages of fun. How the FUCK can you justify getting Cliff's Notes for The Hobbit? My parents read that to me when I was, like, 6. It's not a very difficult read. And if you're given a whole bloody 3 months? It's just not right. NOT RIGHT! *pets Bilbo* But even if it wasn't The Hobbit, I'd still feel that way about the study guide thingies. They're degrading and horrible things. They take away all originality of thought and understanding. They treat art like pure mindless unappreciated crap. And I don't take kindly to their users. Especially when my favorite books are concerned. I fucking hate those things.
And the whole summer she says "Oh I started it once but never finished it. So I'm going to start it again from the beginning" which of course means "I'm pretending to have read it so it doesn't look so bad when you see I'm still on page 1 but I really have no intention of reading it". And today she was sooo worried because none of the local libraries/stores had Cliff's Notes for it, so she had to make a special trip out of town to get a copy out (because everyone else in her school has checked out copies). GROWL! IT'S NOT RIGHT! People who use them just don't care and should go to Hell. Period. I hate 'em. End of rant.
I hate people who use cliff's notes and those... well I don't even know the other companies who do the same thing, but those things. I hate them. I think there should be a special place in Hell for people who use them instead of reading the book. I know that's harsh, but it's how I feel. Plus I don't actually believe in Hell so it's not quite as bad as it seems. They should be reincarnated as a gnat or something, those people. DAMN but I hate them! With a passion! It's taking a piece of art- something that came out of someone's mind and soul and taking it down to a level where it's unappreciated because of pure stupidity and laziness. I don't fucking care how hard it is to read and understand some books. I don't care if it's a book you don't care about. It's as bad as murder to me. It's taking something someone created and not giving it any respect at all. No time to even try and understand it. I don't fucking care how much work people have or how slow they read if they don't even TRY to make an effort to read a book. It's somebody's art. Somebody's creation. And to take something beautiful that teaches and brings insight and cast it off like it's just a stupid assignment is just utterly wrong. I fucking hate people who use those things instead of reading the original piece. I really do. I don't care how nice a person is or how stressed and overworked they are, it's just wrong.
GROWL!!!
TG is one pissed chica right now. Mostly because one of those things is in my HOUSE now. My sister got it out of the library. She had exactly ONE book on her summer reading list. The WHOLE BLOODY SUMMER to read just a single book. Back in my day we had to read 4 or 5 books over the summer. And she couldn't read just one. She's a senior, mind you.
And which book was it? The Hobbit. I'm sorry, but it's like, 250 pages of fun. How the FUCK can you justify getting Cliff's Notes for The Hobbit? My parents read that to me when I was, like, 6. It's not a very difficult read. And if you're given a whole bloody 3 months? It's just not right. NOT RIGHT! *pets Bilbo* But even if it wasn't The Hobbit, I'd still feel that way about the study guide thingies. They're degrading and horrible things. They take away all originality of thought and understanding. They treat art like pure mindless unappreciated crap. And I don't take kindly to their users. Especially when my favorite books are concerned. I fucking hate those things.
And the whole summer she says "Oh I started it once but never finished it. So I'm going to start it again from the beginning" which of course means "I'm pretending to have read it so it doesn't look so bad when you see I'm still on page 1 but I really have no intention of reading it". And today she was sooo worried because none of the local libraries/stores had Cliff's Notes for it, so she had to make a special trip out of town to get a copy out (because everyone else in her school has checked out copies). GROWL! IT'S NOT RIGHT! People who use them just don't care and should go to Hell. Period. I hate 'em. End of rant.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-15 11:38 am (UTC)As for the idea of Cliff's notes themselves, I'm 100% against using them as a substitute for reading the books. That's just sheer laziness. But, and don't hate me for this tg, but...I do think the use of them is justified at times.
I'm NOT a literature major. I read for sheer pleasure and I truly dislike being forced to pull symbolism out of thin air that the author may or may not have actually put in there on purpose, and then having to write a 10 page paper on it. I think it does a disservice to the book to do that, to say 'Look, he used a number 3 here and a number 4 there and this means the book is about such-and-such.' I once had to stand up and talk about a poem and what I thought it meant; I talked about what I truly saw in it and my english teacher gave me mediocre marks and said I had totally misinterpreted it, then proceeded to pick it apart tell me the 'correct' meaning. Needless to say, this is why I only took the required number of Lit. classes in college, and why I think Cliff's notes can be a useful tool in certain situations.
Another situation in which I think they are acceptable is if you have read a book and are grasping with a whole ton of themes and characters and you just need a reference to help you organize. I freely admit to still having my copy of the Cliff's notes to 'A Tale of Two Cities.' The Notes helped me come up with an idea for my essay topic when I was drawing a blank. So I guess in summary, I agree with you about it being totally wrong to use them to replace reading the book, but I do think they have their usefullness.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-15 02:04 pm (UTC)Plus I was 15 when I read Anna, so some of it was a little confusing for me.
I can understand using them as a 'help' but not in place of the actual book. There is so much in the book that the cliff's notes don't even touch on. Plus each book has the meaning that you put into it, and Cliff's notes only offer one interpretation.